Piggy, Piggy

Piggy, Piggy was a superb episode of American Horror Story and I really enjoyed watching the episode. The opening was pretty intense and may be a sensitive subject for many but I feel it was portrayed in respectable yet vivid manner that only this show could get away with. The sense of fear and terror definitely translated through the screen. Violet learns more about herself and takes drastic action. Tate shows a side that makes you sympathize with him despite what he had done in the past. The most disgusting and horrifying part for me was Vivien devouring that brain! The whole Piggy Man story was funny and scary. It amuses me that the security guy didn't tell them earlier that Hayden escaped. I look forward to watching the next episode as I'm hooked!!!!!!!

A great episode, revealing more than Tate's background...

This episode was undoubtedly beautifully crafted and as sorrowful as it was horrific. Tate's story is one that seems to have captured the hearts and minds of viewers- whether positively or negatively. I'm surprised that an American show tackled the subject of high school mass murder so blatantly- but perhaps this is in itself what made it such a striking episode. The reality of it. Past murders we've seen on the show have been awful, but presumably unrelatable to a very large proportion of the audience- the issue of highschool mass murder resonates with the audience on a much more "real" level- every school student in the western world has at the very least experienced the consequences of murders such as the columbine killings, be it in the introduction of cameras, metal detectors or just a general feeling of mistrust in schools today.

Outside of Tate and Violet's storyline this week, I personally felt the weakness of the other characters. And by other characters I do mean Ben and Viv. I'm not sure what it is about Ben exactly, but not only to I have no compassion for the character, but I genuinely have no interest in him either. The best scenes he has are as a facilitator to Tate's revelations about himself and his past. Viv is a slightly more interesting character, but really only very slightly. She seemed to have given up on her bad feelings about the house entirely too quickly and I'd sincerely question these two's decision to have another baby given that they don't seem to have any idea where or what their daughter's up to most of the time. Not to mention the fact that she's constantly in the bathroom, with the door wide open and cutting her wrists... yet neither seems to have noticed that either...

On one last note: Addie really is sorely missed, and the scene with Constance and the medium was touching beyond belief- Jessica Lange really is a godsend to this show!

A step down, but the kids are fascinating...

In an episode that saw Connie Britton eating brains and Cam from Modern Family being terrified by the piggy man in the mirror, it was the kids that actually brought some levity to the proceedings. Opening with a horrible flashback sequence to the Westfield High massacre, this was an hour driven by Violet's gradual discovery of Tate's murderous rampage and her horror at her ever-present feelings for him. I'm not sure I totally buy that she'd still be into him, considering a) he's a multiple murderer, and b) he's dead; but the story is an interesting one.

Violet was also brought into the ghostly fold by Constance and a similarly campy psychic, played with gloriously nutty charm by Ryan Murphy regular Sarah Paulson. You can already see the route the show is headed, with Constance desperate for Tate to cross over to the other side and Violet's love for him preventing that from happening. Unlike a lot of the other craziness on offer, this particular story works well as a kind of metaphor for teenage angst. You really felt that ending, with Tate rescuing Violet from a near-fatal overdose: the turmoil created by somebody you can't help but have feelings for, despite knowing they're bad for you.

Everything else was pretty nuts tonight, especially the demon-baby hoodoo. Casting Connie Britton on this show continues to create comedy, as her naturalistic demeanor as an actress only makes the wingnuts she's paired with on-screen seem so much more crazy. Top of the heap this week was that wacko scene with the nurse proclaiming Vivien's unborn child a "beast" and an "abomination", telling her how she saw its devil hooves in the ultrasound. Hah! Everything's so overblown, and there's Connie Britton pulling that same "what the hell am I doing here?" expression...

As much as I love Eric Stonestreet, his subplot was a good example of the show having its cake and eating it too. It felt a lot like the writers randomly throwing horror stories at us for no distinct reason, and the ending felt too abrupt to truly work. There were obviously some neat moments, and the Pig-Man was reliably gross (if a little Saw-ish), but generally it didn't totally enamor me.

I've read a couple of articles recently in which Ben and Vivien were highlighted as the two weak links on this show, and I'm inclined to partly agree that they're certainly the least fascinating characters right now. But, generally, I'm intrigued by their subplots; even if they always look and feel so nutty compared to everything else. Piggy Piggy was a step down from last week, but this show is still crazily entertaining. B

Important:
You must only upload images which you have created yourself or that you are expressly authorised or licensed to upload. By clicking "Publish", you are confirming that the image fully complies with TV.com’s Terms of Use and that you own all rights to the image or have authorization to upload it.

Please read the following before uploading

Do not upload anything which you do not own or are fully licensed to upload. The images should not contain any sexually explicit content, race hatred material or other offensive symbols or images. Remember: Abuse of the TV.com image system may result in you being banned from uploading images or from the entire site – so, play nice and respect the rules!